Shimla, April 3 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh, one of the country’s major apple baskets, is all set to introduce global packaging norms for the fruit, Horticulture Minister Narender Bragta said here Tuesday.
Bragta told the assembly that the kind of packaging currently used in the state was not of international standards.
“The telescopic cartons (currently used) have inherent drawbacks like the fruit getting damaged during transportation. Even the fruit quality is compromised,” he added.
The minister said the growers had proposed shifting from the telescopic cartons to the universal standard cartons to compete with Chinese and American apples in global markets.
“From the coming apple season the government would provide standard cartons to the farmers,” the minister added.
Himachal Pradesh is one of India’s top apple-growing regions, with more than 90 percent of the produce going to the domestic market.
